Oil backs away

LONDON. — Oil fell yesterday as investors took profit on a rally the day before to this year’s highs after a report showed a surprisingly large increase in US crude inventories.

June Brent crude futures LCOc2 were last down 53 cents on the day at $68,93 barrel by 1330 GMT, while the May contract LCOc1, which expires today, was down 45 cents at $69,66. WTI futures CLc1 fell 67 cents to $64,58 a barrel.

Traders said most pressure ensued after the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a surprise 5,3 million barrels rise in crude stocks in the week to March 23, against expectations for a decline of to 430,6 million barrels.

The oil price has risen in seven out of the last 9 months and has increased by more than 4 percent this year, making this the third consecutive quarter of gains, which is the longest stretch since late 2010.

“After it rebounded from its early-week high, profit-taking is likely to have ensued,” Commerzbank’s Carsten Fritsch said in a note.

“This was exacerbated by an appreciating US dollar and an unexpected 5,3 million barrel rise in US crude oil stocks last week, as reported by the API after close of trading yesterday.”

Official US inventory data will be published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late yesterday.

“The final part of the surplus has been removed by the lack of any significant seasonal inventory build so far in 2018,” Standard Chartered head of commodity strategy Paul Horsnell said.